Mall Duty
by Kishiro Kitsune
Summary: AU. Lives collide during working hours at the local mall. Between the flirtatious Strife family, the cunning Valentine family, and the matchmaking Tilmitt family, how can anyone hope to survive the summer? Shonen ai, shojo ai.
1. 1 Morning

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts (or Zack, from FF7). It belongs to Square Enix and Disney. I also don't own any of the stores in this story, with the exception of "Moogle Garden". I made that up.

Rated: M (for language and Sora)

Main Pairings: ZexionxDemyx, RoxasxAxel

Others: SoraxRiku, YuffiexKairi, slight SquallxSeifer, one-sided ZackxCloud, mentions RufusxNamine

* * *

**Mall Duty**

_1: Morning_

Standing behind the counter at his new job, Zexion Shade wondered what he was thinking when he applied at the place. He had always had a sensitive nose and ears. For that reason, he always tried to avoid loud, public places. But there he was, working at a very loud, public place because he father insisted that he work a summer job.

"Hey Zexion, how about this one?"

"Spray it near me and I will kill you," Zexion calmly said before his friend had a chance to spray the pink concoction anywhere near him. It was bad enough that the smells of all the different bottles constantly leaked through the plastic and merged together to create one horrifyingly strong scent that clung permanently to his skin and clothes by the end of the day.

"But look!" Marluxia Tilmitt exclaimed, happily waving the bottle around. "It's a brand new cherry blossom scent! You gotta help me see if it's any good! You've got the better nose."

Zexion glared at him. "Absolutely not," he said. "Go see if Larxene will help you."

Marluxia wrinkled his nose. "Oh please, she knows many things but she does not know scents. Can you believe she uses completely different scents between her shampoo and conditioner and body wash and spray? It's so crazy! I keep telling her that she needs to get all of them in the same scents. Maybe you can talk to her about it. And she keeps using vanilla! She's so not vanilla. She needs something more… tangy. Like some kind of fruit. Maybe mango. No, wait! Ginger! What do you think?"

"Marluxia, I honestly do not care," Zexion said with a sigh. "Nor did I want to know what scents Larxene uses or should use. Aren't you suppose to be restocking shelves?"

Marluxia pouted. "But I want to try out the new scent!"

"Then do it on the other side of the room," Zexion said waving his hand. "And make sure you set them out. If Xemnas comes in and finds out that things aren't running smoothly you won't be the only one who gets in trouble."

"Yeah, yeah," Marluxia muttered as he lifted up the box of cherry blossom scented bottles. "Hey, looks like Squall and Seifer have started another fight over there," he remarked when he noticed the crowd forming around a store across from them. "Man, I can't see anything! I can't believe I missed seeing them rip their shirts off!"

Zexion rolled his eyes. It wasn't like they wouldn't do it again later. Squall and Seifer were always fighting over something or other over at the Abercrombie and Fitch store. The only reason they hadn't been fired or scheduled to work at different times was because they brought in so many customers. It wouldn't surprise him at all if the fighting had become something rehearsed.

Marluxia set down the box so he could stand at the entrance and watch the fight. "Hey, there's Zack! Hey Zack, take it off! Wooo-hooo!"

Zexion growled and hurried away from the counter to drag Marluxia back in. "Will you cut that out!" he snapped angrily. "We have a job to do! You can watch Zack take off his shirt later!"

"But--"

"Fair is stripping _again_?" Larxene drawled as she walked out of the storage room with another box. "I don't get why they haven't been fired yet. How ridiculous."

"Oh please, like you don't like sitting out here watching them," Marluxia sneered. "I've caught you at it more than once."

"Prove it!"

"Fine! Let me go get the video file!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

Fighting off a headache, Zexion returned to his place behind the counter. He forced a smile on his face when a couple of girls came up to buy a few bottles of different scents and kept it until the walked away.

_-spritz-_

"Ooo, smells good, Zexi!"

Zexion twitched and slowly turned his head to glare at Marluxia, who was holding one of the horrific pink bottles.

Marluxia appeared oblivious to Zexion's anger as he looked in glee at the bottle. "I'm so happy! This scent is perfect! It's just the one I've been looking for to match my two-in-one shampoo and conditioner!"

"Mar-lux-i-a…" Zexion growled.

"Huh?" Marluxia looked in surprise at the slate-blue haired male. "What's wrong with you? Your face is turning bright red."

"_I'm going to kill you!"_

Marluxia yelped when Zexion lunged for him. He quickly ran away to go hide behind Larxene for safety.

"You'd better run!" Zexion yelled after him. "Just you wait, you bastard! You're dead!"

"Ahem?"

All of the color drained out of Zexion's face and his hands dropped limply to his sides. _'Oh…'_

"Zexion Shade, the sixteen-year-old super genius in his second year of university," the man paused for a moment to change to an even more condescending tone. "How disgraceful."

"M-Mr. Xemnas," Zexion stammered. He couldn't turn around and face the man. He knew he'd have the same look on his face as always. And it wouldn't matter what he had to say to him about Marluxia's horrendous habits, he would still get the blame for the level of immaturity displayed.

"I am very disappointed in you," Xemnas said. "I have come to expect the level of disgrace shown at the shop across from us, but here at Bath and Body we display a level of supreme maturity. What do you have to say for yourself, Zexion Shade?"

"Nothing, sir," Zexion replied as he dropped his gaze to the floor. How could he have let himself get dragged down to Marluxia's level? The pink-haired man was always trying to get a rise out of him and he had finally succeeded.

Xemnas looked down on him for a moment longer before he moved his gaze to Marluxia and Larxene. "Continue with your work," he said before moving on to the other two. "Marluxia Tilmitt and Larxene Snow!"

Zexion sighed in relief and leaned against the counter. In all honesty, he would be very happy when the summer finally came to an end.

* * *

Riku Valentine calmly made his way through the crowds with his slurpee, on his way back to his place of work. He easily ignored all of the girls who would stop and stare at him to admire his long silver hair and his skater-boy attire. But there was one person he could not ignore as he neared the entrance to the store he worked at.

"Riku! Hey, lookit what I found in the back!"

Without any regard to his sanity, Riku looked over at his boyfriend Sora Strife, who was standing in front of Spencer's in his usual colorful outfit waving some sort of box in the air. Riku squinted to see the writing on the box and then choked on his icy drink.

Laughing, Sora turned and disappeared back into the novelty store, leaving his boyfriend to stare after him in shock.

"You realize, of course, that you fall for that every single time," spoke up one of Riku's coworkers. Said coworker just happened to be the twin brother of Sora, Roxas Strife.

"Shut up," Riku growled.

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Look, have you seen the new guy around here anywhere? He's suppose to start work today but I haven't seen him."

Riku walked right past Roxas and into the store to take his place behind the counter. "You're letting the lines build up again," he muttered before apologizing to the girl at the front of the line. She giggled in what she probably thought was a cute manner and then laid her things on the counter.

"What do you care?" Roxas asked crossly. "The only reason you're here is because Sora's working across from us. And if it weren't for the fact that it is _Spencers_ and you get embarrassed so damn easily you would be working right alongside him."

Riku glared at the blond. "Didn't I tell you to shut up? You could at least work the other register!" he said before looking back to the girl. "That'll be seven-fifty-eight, miss."

The girl paid and got her things before hurrying out of the store. Suddenly, flirting with the cute boy who was clearly not in a good mood wasn't very appealing.

"Why should I when it's so clear that you can handle the lines all on your own?" Roxas said. "I think I'll just sit here and amuse myself by watching the girls fall all over themselves."

"You're an asshole," Riku snapped. "Get over here and do your job!"

Roxas scoffed but took up his spot at the other register. "You like it up the ass…" he muttered so that only Riku could hear him.

"What was that?" Riku growled, turning around to face him.

"Nothing," Roxas said lightly. "Nothing at all. Go back to work, pretty-boy."

"If you weren't Sora's brother, I'd beat your ass," Riku muttered as he turned around and began ringing up the next customers items.

"What's stopping you?" Roxas replied. "Oh, that's right. If you start a fight with me again, Sora won't give you any. Isn't that right?"

Riku clenched his fists. _'Stay calm, Riku. Don't let him get a rise out of you. That's exactly what he wants. Don't let him have the satisfaction.'_ "Whatever," he grumbled. _'Wow, Riku. Nice comeback,' _he thought sarcastically.

Roxas snorted and got to work on ringing up items, which took away about half of Riku's line. The two remained silent until the large crowd had been dealt with and they were down to their usual few customers.

"I'm gonna do some restocking," Roxas muttered as he shut down his register. "Let me know if the new guy gets in here. I want to yell at him for being late."

Riku shrugged. "Yeah, sure," he said. Part of him was relieved that Roxas was getting away from him. The two had never gotten along very well, not even as children. The only reason they hadn't killed each other while working together was because of Sora. They respected him too much and maybe even feared his rather remarkable temper.

Riku stayed at the register for a while longer until it didn't look like anyone was going to the register any time soon. Then he took a quick break to walk around the store and check on everything (read: to check on Roxas).

It was while he was walking along the wall making sure there were no empty shirt bins that Roxas appeared out of nowhere carrying an empty box.

"There you were yelling at me for leaving the register and now look at you," Roxas said scathingly.

"There wasn't anyone getting in line when I left," Riku said.

"There wasn't when I left either," Roxas shot back.

"I'll go back when a person gets in line. You waited until the line was backed up clear through the store!"

"So?"

"So?! What do you mean by that?"

"It's not like it wasn't taken care of. Nobody got that pissed about it, so relax."

"How can I relax when it's obvious that you aren't doing your job!"

"Hey, I just restocked a bunch of shit, so don't yell at me about not doing my job! I do my share of shit around here! And what do you do? You sit there behind the register until you think you can take a break! Then you ditch me to go get a slurpee and talk to Kairi and flirt with Sora!"

"I do not! Besides, you're always the one who declines when I ask if you want one! I'd pay for it, you know!"

"Yeah, because you're _so _that nice to me!"

"Well at least _I _ask!"

"Well maybe you shouldn't!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

The two glared at each other, unaware that their new coworker had just walked into the store and was looking for them. That was until Roxas turned to stomp away. Instead, he stopped in his tracks and his eyes widened dramatically. He took a step backwards in his shock and reached out and punched Riku in the arm.

"Ow! What the fuck?" Riku growled. "What's your- damn it!" he cursed when Roxas punched him again and then kept hitting his arm. "What is wrong with you?! You're acting way more asshole-ish than usual!"

"I'm seeing things, right?" Roxas asked, still staring at the new guy. "Tell me I'm seeing things."

Riku raised an eyebrow and then followed Roxas's gaze. When he saw who it was, he smirked. "Well, well, well, isn't _this _an interesting turn of events. I think I'll leave it up to you to welcome him. I've got a register to get back to."

"What?" Roxas all but shrieked in alarm. "No way! You go welcome him and I'll work the register!"

"Scared?" Riku teased.

"No!"

"Then go welcome him," Riku said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Or I can go fetch Sora."

"_No!" _Roxas hissed. "Don't you _dare _go get Sora! I don't care what he'd think of me for it, I would _kill _you!"

"Then go," Riku said, shoving Roxas. "You wouldn't want to keep him waiting. Although…" he paused thoughtfully, enjoying seeing Roxas squirm. "I wouldn't go up to him so nervous. Where's that infamous Strife courage, huh? Even _Cloud _isn't afraid to go flirt with whoever the hell he likes that particular day of the week. And he never talks. Well, unless it's to yell at Zack. Or curse at Zack. Or scream out Zack's name--"

"_Enough,"_ Roxas interrupted him before he could go into detail. "I do not want to know any more about _either _of my brother's love lives. Got that?"

Riku smirked. "Go welcome him or I will continue."

Roxas glared at him and then stomped off.

Please, Riku stood back to watch the theatrics that were bound to come. His days working at Hot Topic had just gotten a hell of a lot more interesting.

"Since when are Zack and Cloud dating?" someone to his left asked.

Riku looked over to see Selphie Tilmitt standing there with a thoughtful look on her face. "They're not," he told her. "I just wanted to see the look on Roxas's face. Guess it didn't register in his mind yet."

"Hmmm…" Selphie hummed thoughtfully. "They _would _make an awfully cute couple."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "I'm not too sure I like what you're planning. Leave me out of it this time."

Selphie smiled. "Okie dokie, then! I just wanted to tell you that lunch will be a bit crazy today! A bunch of people just quit or got fired for something or other and we've only got one new guy. So make sure you guys get down there early today. I'll try and save you a table."

Riku nodded. "Thanks, Sel."

"No problem," Selphie replied. "Well, I'll see ya later!"

Riku watched as she skipped out of the store, most likely to get to her own place of work. Shaking his head, Riku returned to the register.

* * *

Yuffie Kisaragi sighed while looking around the seemingly busy store she worked at. For such a popular store, very few people actually bought anything. Mainly they just sat around and played the games they had hooked up for people to check out. To make things even more boring, her two coworkers were nowhere to be seen. Normally she would be able to entertain herself by flirting with everyone while dressed up as a boy, but that day there was nobody up at the counter, so what was the point?"

"Sheesh, what a day," she murmured. "Why did I want to work here again?" She sighed again and laid her head down on the counter and closed her eyes. At that moment, an all too-familiar song started to play from the popular Rock Band game and she abruptly sat up, her eyes blazing. With a war cry, she leapt overtop the counter and easily landed beside the startled teenager.

"Do you not see the sign!?" Yuffie cried. "It says specifically to not play that song unless you want to die a horrific death by a psychotic Game Stop employee who has to listen to that song _every. Fucking. Day," _she seethed. "Can you not read?!"

"W-what sign?" the guy stammered. "There is no sign, sir!"

Yuffie blinked and stood up straight. "What are you talking about? Of course there's a sign. It's right--" she turned and pointed to a blank space above the TV. "There. Oh, that sunovabitch is gonna die. _SEPHIROTH!!!"_

_

* * *

  
_

Halfway down the mall, Kairi Rhapsodos looked up as she was scooping out cookies and cream Dip 'n Dots ice cream. "What was that?" she asked.

"Oh, that was just my irate coworker," Sephiroth Valentine said coolly. "No doubt she discovered I have once again removed that ridiculous sign. Are you going to finish getting my ice cream?"

"Oh, of course!" Kairi quickly scooped out the rest and handed it over to him. "There you go, Sephiroth. Say, are you going to join us for lunch today?"

"I would rather not," Sephiroth replied. "Perhaps some other time." With that, he turned and walked away to enjoy eating his ice cream on his way back to the video game store.

"Is he really Riku's older brother?" Naminé Highwind questioned once the tall man was out of hearing distance. "They're so different. Riku's so nice but Sephiroth… he's a little intimidating, isn't he?"

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "And this is coming from the girl who is dating the most intimidating guy at our school, Rufus Shinra?"

Naminé blushed and looked away. "T-that's completely different."

"No it's not," Kairi said.

"Identical," Fuu Kramer spoke up.

"Why do you guys have to be so mean to me?" Naminé asked. "Rufus isn't that scary. He's just…"

"What, misunderstood?" Kairi asked. "Naminé, the only person he's nice to is you. That's the only reason you don't find him intimidating. And I've known Sephiroth since I was a little kid. So has Fuu. That's why we're not afraid of him."

"Interesting," Fuu said, looking out past the food court in the direction Sephiroth went.

Kairi and Naminé followed her gaze to see Sephiroth being yelled at by a short boy with jet black hair who wore a black headband.

"Who's that?" Naminé asked. "I thought he said his coworker was a she."

"Maybe we misheard him," Kairi said, staring at him unashamed. "Whoever he is, he's cute."

Fuu chuckled and Naminé looked at the auburn-haired girl in surprise. "Kairi, I thought you said you'd given up on guys?"

"That's doesn't mean I can't look," Kairi said lightly. "It just means that I won't date him, that's all."

"Repeat," Fuu said dryly.

Naminé nodded. "Fuu's right. That's what you said last time and you went out with the guy anyway."

"Well this time I mean it," Kairi stubbornly said. "No more guys! Absolutely not. And you guys are gonna help me. If I even think about it, you remind me of what I've said and why I've said it and if that doesn't work then make sure you keep me busy!"

"So… we could assign you more hours?" Naminé asked sweetly, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "See, I've got this date with Rufus…"

Kairi groaned. "Nami, I can't take your shift this weekend! I promised Gen I'd help him with whatever-the-hell it was that thing I'm suppose to do is."

Naminé looked at her for a minute. "Kai… that sentence made no sense."

Kairi started to reply, but stopped when someone's cell phone went off. She looked around for hers, wondering if it was one of her many ring tones, but stopped when Fuu removed her own from her pocket and flipped it open.

"Speak," the silver-haired girl stated. She was silent for a moment and Kairi wished that the phone was loud enough that she could hear the other side of the conversation. She couldn't figure out anything by watching Fuu's face.

"Fascinating," Fuu said simply. "Later," she said before hanging up.

"What was that about?" Kairi asked.

Fuu smirked. "Squall kissed Seifer."

"_WHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAT?"_

_

* * *

  
_

Seifer Almasy glared daggers at Squall Leonhart as he pulled on his third shirt of the morning. His mind was still reeling in shock from the small peck on the lips Squall gave him just as he was gaining the upper hand in their most recent fight.

"You know, I think our number of customers just tripled," Zack Fair remarked as he put his shirt back on. He always took any chance he could get to take his off and try to flirt with Cloud. "You two should kiss more often!"

"You!" Seifer snarled. "Shut up! This is all your fault!"

Zack looked at him in surprise. "Mine?" he repeated. "How is this my fault? Squall's the one who kissed you, not me."

"You and Cloud are the ones who put that disgusting idea into his feeble head!" Seifer yelled. "The two of you are always flirting!"

Squall casually walked by and slammed Seifer's head into the hall. "Quit your bitching, Almasy. It was just a stupid kiss."

"I'll kill you!" Seifer yelled as he tackled Squall to the ground.

Zack sighed as he heard the tell-tale sound of someone's shirt ripping again. "Guys," he whined. "I just got my shirt back on! Now I'll have to take it off again."

"Shut up, Fair!" Squall and Seifer yelled in unison.

"Clo-oud! They're being mean to me again!"

"Then take them off your list," Cloud Strife calmly replied as he walked past with a box of clothes. "And keep your shirt on."

"But-"

"No, Zack."

Zack was silent for a moment. Then he grinned and opened his mouth to speak, but Cloud beat him to it.

"That goes double for your pants!"

Zack sighed in defeat.

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

I'm hoping this will just be a short, random little story for me to write off of the top of my head. It should be less than 5 chapters long. Odd thing is, I can't see myself finishing it in 3 chapters, but 4 feels like too much.

I'm not sure who my main character is... it's more like all of them are. Or at least, I'm trying to work for them all to be the main characters. Zexion and Roxas are currently battling it out as the lead though.

I'm going to wait until I've got everyone introduced before I pull out my list of ages. But you already know Zexion's age, since Xemnas announced it at the beginning. Everyone else is older than him.


	2. 2 Afternoon

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix and Disney. However, I do own "Moogle Garden" 'cause I made it up.

* * *

**Mall Duty**

2: Afternoon

Lunchtime was the one peaceful moment that Zexion had all to himself. He didn't have to deal with Marluxia and his obsession with cherry blossom scents. He didn't have to deal with Larxene and her crude language and temper. And he could eat at his favorite mall restaurant and get a discount on his favorite meal.

There was only one problem.

"Hey, Zexion!" a bouncy brunette sprang up to him with a bright smile on her face. "Your table is open! I made sure to save it especially for you!"

That problem went by the name of Selphie Tilmitt and she was the younger (and much more talkative) sister of Marluxia.

"Unfortunately," Selphie said as she lead Zexion to his usual table. "We're a bit low on staff at the moment so things are going to run more slowly than usual. Also, I won't be your server today. We've got a new guy handling your section." She stopped at a small square table in a corner and laid down a menu. "Be nice to him. He's still getting used to the place."

Zexion nodded as he took a seat. Selphie beamed at him and then skipped off to go clear more tables and seat more people.

Like always, Zexion quickly glanced over the menu to see if anything caught his attention. Then he settled on his usual tuna sandwich and water and set the menu aside. While waiting for the new waiter to get to his table, Zexion watched people.

People-watching was his oddest habit and the one that always weirded people out, but it was something he enjoyed doing. Growing up, he didn't have many friends and would watch the other kids play. Watching them turned into imagining what his life would be like if he hadn't skipped grades. From there it turned into imagining how his life would be if he was friends with them.

It was as he was watching a group of five be greeted by Selphie that something unexpected happened.

"W-whoa!"

Zexion's eyes widened in surprise as a blond teenager wearing a moogle hat crashed down onto his table. A few feet away, a group of four teenage guys burst into patronizing laughter.

Zexion looked at his face, wondering what he should say to the strange boy. It was during that time that the boy opened his eyes and looked straight into Zexion's own. The contact only lasted a second before the boy sprang away, stammering apologies, but that second was enough to have Zexion's heart begin hammering away in his chest.

'_Such beautiful eyes…' _

"I am so so so sorry!" the blond repeated for a third time. "I don't know what happened! I really didn't mean to crash into your table like that!"

"It's fine," Zexion tried to tell him. The only problem was he couldn't find his voice to say anything.

"I can't believe this," the blond continued to ramble. "I'm _really _sorry. I- um, oh!" He quickly straightened his hat and cleared his throat. "Welcome to Moogle Garden, kupo! How may I serve you, kupo?"

'_Too many "kupo's"…' _Zexion thought distractedly.

"Hey, Dem, that was one 'kupo' too many," Selphie said as she led the group of five past them.

The blond jumped in alarm, his eyes widening in an almost comical manner. "Oh no! I'm so sorry, miss Selphie! It won't happen again, I promise!"

Selphie laughed. "You worry too much. Relax!"

"Yeah," a brunet following behind her chimed in. "And if anyone picks on you, then just come find me and I'll beat them up for you! See, now you have no reason to worry!"

A red-haired girl beside him rolled her eyes. "Don't mind him. He's all excited about some new shipment they got in down at Spencer's."

As Zexion's mind began to function in a proper manner, he realized he recognized the group of five. The brunet worked on the floor above him at the Spencer's across from where the white-haired teen beside him worked. The red-haired girl worked at the Dip 'n Dots in the middle of the mall a short ways from Moogle Garden. Zexion had to walk past it every day at lunchtime. The other two worked at the Abercrombie and Fitch right across from him. He even knew their names, although he tried hard not to pay attention to them.

Selphie led them away as the little brunet started to talk excitedly about what was in the new shipment.

"So, um, what can I get for you?" the blond asked, shuffling his feet nervously.

Zexion opened his mouth, expecting that his voice had returned to him. He frowned when he found he still couldn't speak, so he did the next best thing and flipped open the menu and pointed to the sandwich.

The blond blinked in surprise and leaned in closer to make sure he read it right. "Okay, one tuna sandwich. What would you like to drink? Uh, kupo?"

Zexion flipped the menu over to the back and pointed to the small picture of the bottle of water.

"So, one tuna sandwich and a water," the blond said, beaming when Zexion nodded. "Great! I'll be right back with your food!" He started to walk away only to spin back around and pick up the menu, a barely noticeable blush spreading across his cheeks. "K-kupo!" he stuttered before hurrying away.

Zexion stared after him for a moment before he finally slumped back in his chair and looked down at the table. _'What is wrong with me today?' _he wondered. _'First I let Marluxia get to me. Then I let down my guard again and he tried out some kind of weird ginger-smelling spray on me to see if he should get it for Larxene. And now…' _He raised his eyes to watch as the blond talked to a bored-looking redhead with a ponytail sitting behind the counter. _'Who is he? Why does he make me feel like this?'_

Over at the counter, the blond was asking Reno Sinclair something very similar to Zexion's thoughts.

"Hey, Reno," he said as he handed over a paper with Zexion's order. "Do you know that guy over there in the corner?"

Reno started to look in the direction of the table until the blond panicked and shouted, "No! Don't look!"

Reno sighed. "Demyx, does this have a point?" he asked.

Demyx nodded.

"He's Zexion Shade. The only reason I know that is thanks to Selphie," the redhead told him. "He goes to the same university as me, but I've never talked to him. In fact, I've only seen two people talk to him there. One's a guy with pink hair and the other is some girl."

"Oh…" Demyx sounded a little disappointed. "So, he has a girlfriend…"

Reno snorted. "Yeah, right. The guy's either a class A jerk or too shy to talk to anyone. Why? You know him from somewhere?" he asked.

Demyx shook his head. "No. He just… he makes me feel funny."

"Yeah, he makes me feel sick too," Reno remarked.

"No, not sick-funny," Demyx said, sounding confused. "Just funny… like a bunch of fish are swimming around in my stomach doing flip flops."

Reno raised an eyebrow. "Don't you mean butterflies?" he asked.

"No. Fish," Demyx said. "Why would butterflies be in my stomach?"

Reno looked at him in disbelief for a moment before he scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Never mind," he muttered. "Get back to waiting tables. The order'll be ready in a few minutes."

Demyx nodded and then hurried off.

But as soon as he was gone, he was replaced by another blond. One with spiky hair and mischievous blue eyes. "Hey there, Reno," he purred.

Reno carefully regarded Cloud. "Strife," he said cautiously. It was always hard to tell what kind of mood the blond was in. Personally, Reno wasn't sure if he liked the weird gleam in his eyes.

"Now, now," Cloud purred, leaning onto the counter. "Call me _Cloud._"

Reno scooted back. "Okay… Cloud, yer worryin' me. Are you feeling alright?"

"I feel just fine," Cloud replied, sneakily trailing his fingers over the countertop. "I'd feel better if you'd come over here and talk to me."

"Have you been drinking?"

Cloud pouted. "You're so cruel to me. I just wanted to talk."

"No, what you wanna do is try and molest me while I'm working," Reno said. "Can't it wait?"

"But I want you now," Cloud complained.

"What about Fair?" Reno asked, searching for a way out. "He's right over there. Can't you molest him instead?"

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "No. I want _you_."

Reno gulped and took another step back, recognizing the look in the blond's eyes. "N-now, Cloud. Lets be rational about thi-iiiiiiisssssssss!" he screamed as Cloud leapt over the counter and tackled him to the ground.

Across the restaurant, Sora was watching his older brother in amusement. "Well, I guess that explains why he kept staring at Reno. I almost feel bad for him. _Almost._" he said before looking over at Riku with a grin. "Hey…"

"No," Riku said quickly. "Don't you dare run over and try to molest me while I'm working! Roxas would kill me!"

"Nonsense," Sora said, waving away Riku's concerns like they were nothing. "He wouldn't dare."

"Maybe not when you're there," Riku said. "But the second you leave, he'll be on my case about it for the rest of the day!"

Sora pouted. "Aw, you're no fun."

"Although…" Riku murmured, an impish smirk crossing his face. "With who else is working there with us now, maybe it won't be a problem."

Sora's eyes lit up. "Okay, now I gotta hear this! C'mon, tell me!"

"I shouldn't…"

"Riku," Kairi spoke up. "You might want to tell him before he explodes."

Riku wearily eyed his boyfriend as he began scooting his chair closer to him.

"Teeeelllllllll meeeeeeeeeee," Sora whined pleadingly. "You know you want to!"

Zack snorted into his drink. "Damn, just tell him."

"Okay, okay," Riku gave in, leaning closer to the table. "Everyone lean in and I'll tell you. But you have to promise not to tell Roxas I told you this."

Eagerly, the others leaned in to hear what Riku had to say.

* * *

At the Game Stop, it was Selphie's job to work the register while Sephiroth walked around and helped people. However, there was a third person to their team. That person was none-other than Aerith Gainsborough, the manager of the store. She spent most of her time in the back going over records and such, but every now and then she had to leave for the front to check on Yuffie and Sephiroth. It was on one of those trips that she discovered something troubling.

"May I help you find something?" Sephiroth asked as he walked up behind two teenage boys.

Their reaction was instantaneous. They both turned around, froze, and then ran screaming from the store, leaving behind a puzzled and confused Sephiroth.

Aerith, who hadn't heard a thing of what had been said and merely assumed that Sephiroth did something wrong like the last time he scared off a customer, marched over to him and grabbed the lapel of his vest. "What have I told you about threatening customers?" she demanded. "I expected better of you! I understand that Yuffie can't control what she does, but you are several years her senior and I expect better of you."

Sephiroth flinched under her glare.

"Wow, am I seeing things right?"

Sephiroth stiffened at the sound of that all-too familiar voice. Aerith was surprised enough to stop scolding Sephiroth and turn around to see who it was. There behind her was a man wearing a long red coat and a cocky, know-it-all smirk.

"Genesis Rhapsodos," Sephiroth hissed, narrowing his eyes.

"What kind of greeting is _that_?" Genesis scathingly asked. "Or is the great Sephiroth Valentine too good for greeting old friends?"

"You were never my friend."

"I seem to remember differently."

"Your memory is incorrect."

Aerith watched the verbal match like one would watch a volleyball or tennis match, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Genesis demanded.

"I'm certainly not calling _myself _a liar," Sephiroth calmly replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"How _dare _you!"

"How dare I what?"

"Stand there all cool and insult me like that! It disgusts me!"

"I care not for your insignificant feelings."

"Are you calling me short?!"

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "You realize that it is pointless for me to attempt to insult you when you clearly do that very well on your own."

"I am not short!"

"I never said anything of the sort. But if you wish, I'm sure I could think of some way to insult your height."

"There you go again! Come over here! I'll beat you up for that!"

"If you really wish to fight me, then kindly wait until I am off work," Sephiroth said flipping his hair over his shoulder nonchalantly. "Otherwise, move your short ass out of the store."

"Sephiroth!" Kairi exclaimed in shock. "I'm surprised at you! That was uncalled for!" she stepped defensively in front of Genesis, who childishly stuck his tongue out at Sephiroth.

"Your immaturity never fails to astound me, Rhapsodos," Sephiroth said. "Hiding behind your own sister because you cannot win the fight you yourself began."

"It's not my fault your scared of a little _girl_," Genesis replied.

Kairi promptly smacked him in the head and he whimpered in pain. "I wouldn't talk if I were you," she said. "Now go wait for me out by the ice cream! Now!"

Genesis glared at Sephiroth one last time and then stalked out of the store to go nurse his wounded pride.

"Pathetic," Sephiroth muttered, turning around to get back to work. "I'll be over there if you need me."

Kairi waited until Sephiroth was on the other side of the store before she turned to Aerith and said, "those two need to fuck and make up already."

Aerith giggled in agreement. "Oh yes, they have been arguing like that for quite some time now. I have lost count of how many times they've done that in here. And it seems as if it always goes the same way?"

"Like what always goes the same way?" Yuffie asked as she returned from lunch break. Then she saw Kairi and grinned, hopping up on the counter to lay across it. "Hey there, cutie," she said with a wink.

Kairi blushed, recognizing her as the boy she saw earlier.

Aerith raised an eyebrow. "Yu, what have I told you about that?"

"But she's cute as fuck, Aerith," Yuffie replied. "Can't I flirt with her just a bit?"

If possible, Kairi turned slightly more red. "I-I should go. Genesis is waiting for me. I- I'll talk to you later, Aerith!" she said, glancing at Yuffie once more before hurrying out of the store.

"Soooo…" Yuffie said, sitting up. "Who was that? 'Cause I wasn't lying. She's cute."

"Kairi Rhapsodos," Aerith said. "She works down there at Dip 'n Dots. She's also friends with Sephiroth's younger brother."

"For real?" Yuffie asked in surprise. "But this is the first time I've seen her!"

"Your powers of observation never fail to astound me," Aerith said, rolling her eyes. "She started here just before she graduated high school and should be here all summer. Now that you know that, will you please get off the counter and do your job?"

"Sure," Yuffie chirped, sliding back behind it. "Why'd you come out here anyway? Did Sephiroth do something again? Did he remove my sign _again?_"

Aerith shook her head. "No, he merely frightened away yet another customer. I would put him behind the register, but I fear everyone would be too frightened to buy anything."

"Yeah…" Yuffie said with a sigh. "Oh well. It makes things interesting!"

"It certainly does…"

* * *

Roxas stared at his reflection in the back room, making sure the little makeup he wore was in place. He had already run across to Spencer's the go through Sora' bag and find the eyeliner and lip gloss and had been discovered by Luxord Gambit, to his mortification. But it was all worth it for his grand master plan to get the attention of his brand new co-worker and crush of five years - Axel Sinclair.

So he put on the eyeliner and the strangely tasty cherry lip gloss and checked over his hair to make sure the spikes were in order. "Damn," he muttered. "I can't do this. I'm not like Cloud. I can't flirt with guys. I'm even less like Sora. I can't think of flirty things to say on the spot like he does! Oh man…"

A knock came at the door and Roxas nearly jumped out of his skin. "H-hold on!" he stammered. "I'll be out in a minute!" He fumbled around, trying to hide the makeup and ended up stuffing them both into his pocket. Then he stopped at the door and took a deep breath. _'C'mon, Roxas. You can do this. It's just a guy you've like for __**five**__ years. No big deal.'_

Roxas gathered up his courage and opened the door. Standing right there in front of him was Axel. "H-hey," he stuttered.

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Hey. You coming out? I need to piss."

Roxas hurried away from him, his head bowed. When he heard the door shut behind him he winced and banged his head against the shelf.

"Wow, impressive," Sora sarcastically said.

Roxas jumped away from the wall, his eyes wide. "S-Sora! What are you doing here?! I thought you were at lunch! Why are you in here?"

"Riku told me the most interesting thing at lunch today," Sora remarked. "Something about a new co-worker of yours."

Roxas automatically looked around so he could yell at the silver-haired boy.

"He's not here. I sent him off to get something with Kairi," Sora said. "So it's just me, you, and your not-so-secret crush in this little store. So where is your sexy re--" He blinked in surprise when Roxas slapped his hand over his mouth and shoved him against the wall.

"Shut up!" Roxas hissed. "You stay out of this! I don't need your help."

"But Roxas," Sora whined after smacking away Roxas's hand. "It's the Strife family tradition to pass along the techniques of flirting! You obviously need my and Cloud's help."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "No. I remember what happened back when you were always flirting with Riku and I've seen firsthand what Cloud considers flirting. It usually involves tackling his intended victim to the floor and molesting him."

"Then we'll figure out a more, um, less obvious way for you," Sora said. "Just give me some time."

"No," Roxas said, shaking his head. "I'm going to do this myself. I don't need help. Make sure you tell that to Riku. Or better yet, how about I tell him myself because he's back from whatever inane errand you sent him on." Without waiting for a reply, Roxas stomped off to yell at Riku.

Sora stood there for a moment longer, but before he could make his escape Axel walked out of the bathroom.

"Who're you?" he asked.

Sora looked up at Axel and couldn't help but grin. "I'm Sora. Roxas's brother."

"_Get your ass over here __**now **__Sora!" _Roxas barked.

"Later!" Sora said before he skipped over to Roxas.

Axel watched him go. _'What the hell is wrong with that family?'_

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

And so the fun continues. This thing just keeps getting more interesting to write. I'm starting to think that 4 chapters is too short. But I really don't want it to be very long or else I'll start not liking it. And I want to keep liking this one because it's silly and fun.

So, this chapter reveals a glimpse of the plot. Or at least the beginning to three pairings (maybe 4). But don't mind Cloud. He flirts with everyone. He serves as my wildcard for this one since I don't know exactly who he'll end up with. But that makes this all the more fun to write. Some times it's good to not know.

- Don't ask about Genesis's argument over his height. I enjoy imaging him to be much shorter than Angeal or Sephiroth (maybe around Zack's height?) and since those two are the ones he's around the most, I think it would irk him a bit.

Here's the ages, as promised:

**Bath&Body **- Marluxia Tilmitt (19) , Larxene Snow (20), Zexion Shade (16)

**Spencer's** - Sora Strife (18) , Paine (22), Luxord (25)

**Hot Topic** - Riku Valentine (19) , Roxas Strife (18), Axel Sinclair (20)

**Dip 'n Dots** - Kairi Rhapsodos (17), Naminé Highwind (18), Fuu Kramer (20)

**Abercrombie and Fitch **- Cloud Strife (23), Squall Leonhart (21), Zack Fair (25), Seifer Almasy (21)

**Game Stop **- Sephiroth Valentine (26), Aerith Gainsborough (24), Yuffie Kisaragi (16)

**Moogle Garden** (food place) - Demyx Kaiyo (17), Reeve (owner) , Reno Sinclair (25), Selphie Tilmitt (18)

Also - Genesis Rhapsodos (26)


	3. 3 Matchmaker

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix and Disney. However, I do own "Moogle Garden" 'cause I made it up.

* * *

**Mall Duty**

_3. Matchmaker_

Roxas unabashedly watched Axel walk around the store helping people while Riku stood right behind him snickering in amusement.

"I swear, Valentine, if you do not stop I am going to beat you to a bloody pulp," Roxas said, smiling when Axel turned and looked his way. He flirtatiously blew a kiss to the redhead and winked, which caused Axel's cheeks to flood with color as he looked away.

"It's just interesting to see how quickly you've adapted to flirting with him," Riku remarked. "It's like a whole new side to you."

"I can still kick your ass," Roxas snapped.

"What do you mean _still? _You never could to begin with," Riku said.

"Wanna bet?" Roxas replied, turning around to glare at him.

Riku looked at him for a moment and then turned around. "You're not worth Sora getting pissed at me. And don't look now, but your lover-boy is coming this way."

Cheeks flushed, Roxas turned back around and began folding up some returned clothing once again. That was until Axel reached his side of the counter and set down some crumpled clothing. Just as the redhead was getting ready to leave, Roxas reached out and gently took his hand. Then, peering up through his bangs in an almost shy manner, he asked, "could you take these and put them up?"

"Oh, y-yeah," Axel said, picking them up.

Roxas noted with amusement that Axel's cheeks were still tinged a pink color. _'Its working!' _he thought giddily. _'Maybe I really __**can**__ do this.'_

That thought lasted until he realized that Riku was laughing uncontrollably. The giddy feeling vanished, leaving him with feelings of anger as he turned around and glared at the silver-haired boy.

Riku fell silent when he felt the intensity of Roxas's glare on him and couldn't help but shudder. _'Oh shit…'_

"And just _what _is so funny?" Roxas demanded.

"Nothing," Riku lied. "Just something Sora did."

"Oh really?" Roxas asked. "That's funny, because I just got a text message from Sora, who is taking a quick break. He's down visiting Kairi and trying to bribe her out of some ice cream right now and wanted to know if we want any."

Riku gulped, knowing he had been caught.

"Besides that, anything that Sora does over at Spencer's is bound to be something perverted and since when do you laugh at any of that?" Roxas asked. "You don't. You squeal like a teenage girl and turn tomato red before you rush away from him so you don't have to see the whatever-it-is anymore. So that makes me think," he paused as he took a step closer to Riku, who reflexively took a step back. "…that you were laughing at _me._" With that, Roxas stomped down on Riku's foot.

Riku's howls of pain echoed around the store before being replaced by curses.

Roxas nonchalantly returned to folding shirts.

* * *

Squall Leonhart was nervous. Normally, he wasn't the sort of nervous person. Normally he could continue with business like always, easily dodging whatever Seifer had to (usually literally) throw at him.

However, something was different about that day. That day, Seifer was not the only one he had to watch out for. Because that day, a certain other blond with spikier hair had taken a liking to him, much to Seifer's amusement and Zack's disappointment.

Squall peered cautiously around a corner to see if the blond was anywhere in the room. His heart momentarily sped up when he caught a flash of blond hair, but to his relief it was some other guy. In the split second that he relaxed, the blond he was oh-so worried about snuck up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Hey there, sexy," he breathed in his ear.

Squall froze. "C-Cloud," he stammered nervously. "What are you doing?"

Cloud merely hummed as he snuck his hands under Squall's shirt. "You've been working out," he remarked in amusement. "Nice."

Squall tightly squeezed his eyes shut. _'Someone help me. Cloud's going to molest me right here in front of everyone and I'll be powerless to stop him and where the __**fuck **__are Zack and Seifer when I actually need them?'_

And then there was that traitorous little thought that slipped into his brain. _'Well, it's not like he's bad looking…'_

With a squeak of alarm, Squall attempted to wiggle his way out of Cloud's grip, only to fail and be pulled closer to the blond.

"Such a feisty little lion," Cloud cooed.

Head bowed, Squall wondered dimly if crying would help him get away.

"Cloud?" a feminine voice asked in confusion. "What are you doing to Squall?"

Squall looked up and momentarily thought he had died and gone to the afterlife, for the woman who stood before him surely had to be an angel.

"Hello Aerith," Cloud calmly said, resting his chin on Squall's shoulder. He grinned suddenly and affectionately nipped Squall's neck, causing the brunet to jump in surprise. Then he asked, "what brings you here?"

Aerith raised an eyebrow. "I came to ask Squall if he'd like to join me for lunch, but now I see that he's busy…"

"No!" Squall blurted out. _'Don't leave me alone with this maniac!'_

Aerith giggled at how panicked Squall sounded. She couldn't help it. He always acted so big and tough, but the moment Cloud got near him he would start freaking out. It was almost cute.

Cloud pouted and slightly tightened his grip with one hand, running his other over Squall's abs and then slowly down…

Squall yelped and tried to pull away, but Cloud's hold was too strong. Thankfully, the blond raised his hand back up to his abs before smirking and kissing Squall's neck again.

"Are you done yet?" Aerith asked, sounding amused. "If you want him to stay so badly, you only have to say so. I'll go ask Seifer instead."

"Please and thank you," Cloud said coolly. "Better yet, take Zack."

Aerith shook her head. "Sorry. You and Zack have the same lunchtime and now isn't it. I would if I could," she said before giving Squall and apologetic look. "Tough luck, Squall. Have fun!"

A pitiful whine escaped Squall's throat as he watched Aerith bounce away. _'Nooooo…'_

Cloud chuckled and once again attached his lips to Squall's neck.

* * *

'_There he is…'_ Demyx thought, watching Zexion sit at his usual table with a book. _'Just the same as every day. Complete with a new book.'_

"Yo, Demyx!" Reno called. "Here's the sandwich!"

Demyx turned on his heel and took the sandwich from the redhead. Then he just stood there staring at it. Reno rolled his eyes before disappearing back into the kitchen. He wasn't about to sit around and deal with the stupid teenage angst that was so clearly affecting his blond coworker.

"Are you going to take him that sandwich or am I going to do it?" Selphie asked as she twirled past him.

Demyx jumped and stammered out an apology before he hurried over to Zexion's table without a second thought. It was only when he got there that he realized what he was doing and froze in fear.

Zexion raised his eyes from his book to look curiously at Demyx. It took Demyx a few minutes to realize that and when he did he squeaked and set down the plate.

"D-did you know there are over forty-eight species of tuna?" Demyx began to ramble. "A-and there's this one breed that can change it's body temperature so it can live in colder waters! I thought that was pretty cool. Imagine if people could do that. Then it wouldn't matter what the temperature was and we could wear whatever we wanted at any time of the year! A-and here we serve just two kinds of tuna. We have Albacore and Yellowfin. The sandwiches are made from Albacore because we only use Yellowfin for steaks. But sometimes we get in other kinds to experiment with different tuna steaks. But I think that Reeve, he's the owner of this place, likes those, um, Tilapia? Yeah, Tilapia, a lot more. He's got this whole farm of them over at his place and some of them are _so _huge! I like going over there just to see them. They're actually pretty cool. And tasty. There are so many different things you can do with Tilapia! You can deep fry them or bake them or… hey! I bet I could make a Tilapia steak!" he paused to laugh and then continued to go on about the fish.

Zexion slowly bookmarked his place and then set his book aside. Then he stared up at Demyx and watched him. That was all. He didn't say anything or try to interrupt. He just watched him.

'_Say something,' _Demyx mentally begged as he continued to ramble on about tuna fish and Tilapia. _'Please. I want to hear your voice!'_

In the three weeks that Demyx had been working the lunch shift at Moogle Garden, he had not even once heard Zexion's voice. If it weren't for the fact that he could watch him speak to Selphie when she'd show him to his seat, Demyx would swear he was a mute.

Finally, Zexion cleared his throat and Demyx instantly fell silent.

"Demyx."

The very sound of his name falling from the other boys lips sent shivers down Demyx's spine and made his breath catch in his throat. _'Wow...'_

"Would you… like to sit down?" Zexion asked.

Demyx promptly fainted.

* * *

Days later, Selphie found herself pacing around in a storage room with our of her friends watching her. There was Sephiroth, leaning up against a wall, and Riku sitting on a few boxes nearby him. And then there was Fuu, looking incredibly bored as she stood near the door, as well as Marluxia, who was comfortable seated on the floor with an open box of sprays at his feet.

"It's come to my attention that we have a bit of a problem," Selphie said. "And that problem is that certain people who need to be together are not getting together."

Riku groaned, already seeing where she was leading to. "Selphie, I am _not _going to help you play matchmaker," he said. "It's just not going to happen."

Selphie stopped pacing and put her hands on her hips. "You be quiet! The only reason you're here is because you're the only one who works with Roxas and Axel!"

Marluxia looked up from the box. "But then why am I here?" he asked. "You never told me. You know I hate it when you don't tell me shit."

"You work with Zexion," Selphie stated simply.

Marluxia scowled. "No _duh. _Way to point out the obvious. I mean, really. I think I know that I work with the guy! I'm not as stupid as you seem to think I am, little miss prissy I-work-in-a-restaurant-and-you-only-work-in-Bath-and-Body…" he continued to rant even as Selphie began talking again.

"And Fuu is here because she works with Kairi, and Sephiroth's here because he works with Yuffie," Selphie said, ignoring Marluxia "And me, well I'm here because I work with Demyx. Does anyone see where I'm trying to go with this?"

"Yes," Fuu said.

Selphie beamed. "Great! So then you know what I want you to do, right?"

Fuu sighed. "Unfortunately."

Selphie almost squealed in glee.

"I mean, really! If I didn't work there then where on earth would you get those great discounts for that delicious scent I know you love?" Marluxia continued. "You can't get it anywhere else, you know. They're one-of-a-kind, exclusive only to Bath and Body! I--"

"Mar!" Selphie snapped "Shut up!"

"You can't tell me what to do!" Marluxia fought back. "_I'm _the oldest! I'm suppose to tell _you _what to do! It's the rules!"

"What kind of rule is that?" Selphie growled angrily. "It sounds like a real stupid one to me. Honestly, just because you're a few months--"

"A few?" Marluxia interrupted. "Try a whole eleven! That makes me a year older!"

"No, it makes you _eleven ­months _older!" Selphie yelled back. "Eleven months does not add up to a year!"

"It almost does!"

"No it doesn't!"

"Yeah-huh! One more month and it'd be twelve! Twelve months equals one year, _duh_!"

"Oh whoopee, you can count!"

"Better than you!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

The Tilmitt siblings glared at each other.

"Are you quite finished yet?" Sephiroth asked in his rumbling voice. "I have a job to get back to."

"Oh, keep your pants on," Selphie said, looking away from Marluxia. "You're the one I'm counting on the most! You're going to be my brains!"

Sephiroth looked at her for a moment, allowing no expression to cross his face. Then he sighed deeply and said, "very well. What is your plan this time?"

"This time?" Riku quietly asked Fuu, who shrugged.

"Okay, I want to help them all get together!" Selphie exclaimed excitedly. "It's pretty obvious that Kairi likes Yuffie, even though she doesn't know she's a girl. Actually, it's really amusing… and Aerith mentioned that Yuffie keeps flirting with Kairi and won't stop going on about how cute she is."

"Kairi likes Yuffie?" Riku repeated in shock. "That's… weird. She's been boy crazy since we were little kids."

"Get with the times, Riku," Selphie chirped. "Besides, they're not the only new couple I see trying to form. There's also Zexion and Demyx."

"Who?" Fuu asked.

"Zeh-" Selphie stopped and sighed. "The guy with gray hair who works with Mar and the new guy at Moogle Garden."

"The guy who's clumsier than Sora?" Riku asked. "He likes the stick-in-the-mud? The one who never talks to anyone? They're complete opposites!"

Selphie crossed her arms over her chest. "Well they like each other. Zexion spoke to him the other day and Demyx completely passed out! Although… that may have been more because he hadn't eaten anything for a while and has to work around food all day… poor kid. Anyway, they like each other and me and Mar are going to get them together!"

Marluxia looked alarmed. "We are?" he asked. "Why me?"

"Because you work with Zexion," Selphie repeated. "You're around him the most and one of the few people he sort-of opens up to.

"Great," Marluxia groaned sarcastically.

"Not that it isn't nice knowing this and all, but why am I here?" Riku asked. "I don't work with any of them and I don't see Kairi much anymore unless it's to get a slurpee. We don't really get much time to talk then."

"_You_ have a completely different couple to worry about," Selphie happily informed him, bouncing over to poke him in the nose.

Riku wearily rubbed the offended body part. "Who would that be? Wait, you don't mean…"

"Yes I do," Selphie said. "Sorry, but you're going to be on your own with hooking up Axel and Roxas, but it needs to be done. Roxas has liked Axel for way too long and if I have to keep hearing him whine about it I'm gonna go crazy!"

"Too late for that…" Marluxia grumbled.

"That cherry blossom stuff smells like shit," Selphie cheerfully snapped back at him.

Marluxia gasped and pulled the box closer to him. "No it doesn't! Don't listen to her, my loves! She's just jealous of your beauty!"

"Plans?" Fuu interrupted.

"Well, that's where Seph comes in! He's my mastermind!" Selphie proudly said. "I was thinking that we lock Roxas and Axel in some storage closet though. It worked with Yuna and Tidus!"

"That's too cliché and it'll just piss Roxas off," Riku said. "We need something more subtle with him and Axel."

"I believe the closet would work perfectly fine," Sephiroth spoke up. "You merely have to think of the correct way to get them both in there so they wouldn't know it was a set-up. I believe you've complained before that the storage closet at Hot Topic locks if you close it behind you?"

Riku's eyes went wide. "Yeah, it does. That… that might work. Axel doesn't know about that yet. We haven't sent him in there."

Sephiroth smirked.

"And I know the perfect set-up," Riku said, a smirk forming on his face. "It'll work."

"Great!" Selphie exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "So, that's one couple. What about Yuffie and Kairi?"

"Kairi needs to realize that Yuffie is a girl, first," Marluxia spoke up. "Judging by her reaction to that, we should be able to tell if she seriously likes her or not."

"Have they ever even spoken to each other?" Riku asked.

"Once," Fuu said.

"You need to get them to talk too," Marluxia said. "What's the best way to do that? Send Yuffie to get something from Dip 'n Dots?"

"Genesis drops by Game Stop every evening to pick Kairi up," Sephiroth said. "That is the only interaction the two have had, to my knowledge. Perhaps I could… distract Genesis for a moment to give the two more time to talk."

"But how will Kairi find out that Yuffie is a girl?" Marluxia asked. "Can we just tell her or something? Pretend to let it slip?"

Sephiroth smirked. The simple act sent a chill down everyone's spines. That smirk was never a good thing. In fact, usually it meant he was up to something. "Leave that to me."

Selphie shuddered. Never before had she felt more thankful to have Sephiroth on her side. "O-okay. That just leaves Zexion and Demyx. Both of them are too shy to admit on their own that they like each other, so we'll have to weasel that out of them and make them realize it!" she said, punching a fist into the palm of her hand. "I've got it! Marluxia, you can try and get Zexion to admit it! That'll be the hard part. From there, we just gotta get him and Demyx together more. Maybe we can do that thing where we invite them to join us and friends at the movie theatre and then once we're in we leave them all alone!"

Marluxia rolled his eyes. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. How on earth did you ever come to be known as the Matchmaker in school?"

Selphie promptly punched his shoulder. Marluxia hit back and the two were soon involved in a slap fight.

"My idea is much better!" Marluxia shouted as he slapped her hand away. "Just you wait and see!"

"Fine!" Selphie yelled back. "If you want to screw this whole thing up, then be my guest! Just don't come crying to me when your plan fails and you need me to clean up the mess!"

"Fine!" Marluxia yelled.

"Good!"

"Good!"

The storage closet door open and Larxene looked in at them with a raised eyebrow. "_What _are you all doing in here, having an orgy?"

Marluxia's eyes lit up and he leapt to his feet, paying no mind to the box as it fell over. "Larxene, my darling! Perhaps you'd care to help me out with this little scheme…" As he led her away from the room, he glanced back at his sister and smirked.

'_Oh, it's __**on **__now, Mar,' _Selphie thought. _'Just you wait! I'll beat you this time!'_

_

* * *

  
_

End Chapter

* * *

Sooo, yeah. Cloud is starting to scare me. I started writing that scene with him intending to have Zack show up but then Aerith decided she wanted to be in there instead. And obviously Cloud wanted to molest poor Squall. On the other hand, Demyx is adorable, no?

This may end up being 5 chapters if I can't wrap everything up next chapter. I think I'll be able to though.

Obviously, next chapter Selphie and the other matchmakers put their plans in action. What could possibly go wrong?

Extra notes: apparently the 'luxia' in Marluxia's name is pronounced like "Lucy-uh". As if the man weren't girly enough. Or at least, that's how Vexen pronounced it in Re: CoM. I think I'll start calling him "Lucy".

My personal single favorite line of this chapter: **A pitiful whine escaped Squall's throat as he watched Aerith bounce away. _'Nooooo…'_**


	4. 4 Togetherness

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix and Disney.

* * *

**Mall Duty**

_4. Togetherness_

Zexion was once again stuck sitting behind the register, mainly because he was the only one who didn't get pissed off at customers. However, there was a second reason why he was there. All week Marluxia had been up to something. He could feel it in the air around him.

Okay, maybe he couldn't feel it, but he could tell that something was up by the way the pink-haired man kept looking over at him and smirking. One time he even caught him muttering to himself in the storage room. He passed it off as Marluxia once again talking to the pink bottles, but then he heard his name in one of the sentences. And then there was the fact that Larxene kept giving him her infamously smug I-know-something-you-don't-know-and-it's-about-you smirk.

Zexion yawned and rested his head on his arms. It was a slow day - a Monday - and there wasn't very much to do other than sit there and stare out at the sea of plastic smelly bottles. How he loathed the job. But he promised his father to stick to one place for the whole summer, so that was what he was going to do.

"Hey, Zexion," Marluxia said, slipping up behind him with a bright blue bottle. "Check this out! It's called 'Ocean Breeze'. Pretty cool, huh? They've got some other ones too. There's 'Waterfall Mist' and 'Serene Waters' and- huh? How'd 'Blue Moon' get in here?" He frowned and put it back in the box before rummaging around for a different scent.

Zexion sighed and tried to inconspicuously cover his nose with his long sleeves.

"Anyway, there's also 'Azure Beach' and 'Misty Sapphire' and--"

"Is there a point to this?" Zexion finally interrupted. "Don't you have a job to do?"

Marluxia pouted in disappointment. "I just wanted to show you all of the new water-based scents we have. None of them are very strong so I thought you might appreciate them. I guess not…" he said with a sigh. "Very well. I'll just go set them out."

Zexion wearily watched him walk away. _'That was too easy. Now I know he's up to something. But what is he doing with a bunch of water-scented bottles? He's always said I was more of a clean linen person,' _he thought, wrinkling his nose. _'Which is ridiculous. Clean linen is a very strong scent. I like vanilla much better.' _He groaned and shifted so he was facing down. _'Why is it that everyone has gone crazy lately?' _he wondered, recalling everything else he had seen earlier that week.

First there was the Cloud and Squall incident, where he walked into the bathroom to find the two of them making out against the wall. Talk about unhygienic. The day after the next was the Cloud and Reno incident, when the two accidentally collided with his table while making out and made Demyx squeak and run away. The next day was the incident-heard-'round-the-mall when Squall put his own skills to the test and kissed and groped Seifer in front of everyone while they were getting lunch. The brunet got punched for it, several times, but by the grin on his face everyone could tell he thought it was worth it. The next day Cloud announced his interest in the brunet again by attacking him during work and kissing him the rest of the day. It was a first in the history of Cloud's deviance - never before had he gone after the same person twice in one week.

'_Of course, the only reason I heard about that was because Marluxia kept whining about how disappointing it was to not see them with their shirts off,' _Zexion remembered, rolling his eyes. _'There are times when I sincerely doubt my own sanity for choosing Marluxia as a friend.'_

"Umm, excuse me?"

Zexion slowly lifted his head only to blink his eyes at the bright light which suddenly assaulted his vision. When he eyes adjusted, he found himself looking straight into the beautiful sea-blue eyes of his favorite waiter. His breath caught momentarily in his throat before he snapped out of it and sat up straight. "How may I help you?" he asked.

Demyx ran his fingers through the back of his hair as he held out one of the small blue bottles Marluxia had just minutes ago. It was then that Zexion realized he was seeing the blond's hair for the first time. Every other time he had seen him the boy had been wearing that nonsensical moogle hat, but now he could clearly see that the boy had his hair styled into some sort of mullet.

'_It suits him…'_

With a grimace, Zexion took the little bottle and quickly rang it up, dropping it in the bag so he wouldn't have to hold it for too long. As he put it away, he caught sight of the name of it. 'Melodious Brook'.

"Three-seventy," he spoke almost without noticing it. Saying the cost of the item or items had become so habitual for him that his mouth usually spoke up before his brain could register it.

As Demyx fumbled for his munny, stammering apologies and such under his breath, Zexion caught sight of Marluxia hiding behind a table watching them with interest. He narrowed his eyes at his friend and he ducked down behind the table as if that would protect him from Zexion's wrath.

Zexion took the munny from Demyx and separated the thin golden squares into different slots on his register before tugging free the receipt and handing it over to the blond. He paused as he lifted the bag to hand it over, his eyes locking with Demyx's once again.

"I have a question," Zexion said smoothly, although he felt anything but. His heart was pounding so loudly that he thought for sure that Demyx was able to hear it and he had to fight to keep his arm from shaking as he handed over the bag.

"You wouldn't happen to not have plans for the day after tomorrow, would you?" Zexion asked.

Demyx's eyes widened. "W-what? I mean, no! Well, that is, I was going to go over to Reeves to look at the baby Tilapia but I think he'd understand if I couldn't make it, I mean, he's really nice about stuff like that and I'm sure if I told him I couldn't go then it'd be okay and I'm sure that me going over there almost every day is a more of an inconvenience to him and all but--" He stopped rambling and looked away as he blushed. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I, um…"

Zexion chuckled.

Demyx looked at him, first in alarm and then in amazement. "That's the first time I've heard you laugh…" he whispered.

"My apologies," Zexion said after a moment. "I don't know what came over me."

Demyx shook his head, the look of amazement still on his face. "N-no! It's okay, really. It's a nice laugh. Even if you were laughing at me. It's okay, I'm used to it."

"But I wasn't laughing at you," Zexion said.

Demyx swore his heart skipped a beat. "But everyone laughs at me!" he exclaimed without meaning to.

"I…" Zexion swallowed and looked away, feeling his cheeks begin to burn. "I think it's cute…" he said softly.

Demyx fell silent.

Zexion continued to look away, knowing that his cheeks had to be bright cherry red by that point. For once, he had no idea what he was doing. He had never asked out anyone before, mainly because the girls (and guys) in his class didn't want some under-aged, short teenager as a boyfriend. Also, he had never before seen the point in asking someone out, since he had to stay focused on his studies.

Neither of them said anything for several agonizingly long minutes.

Marluxia was about to vacate his hiding place to beat some sense into one, or both, of them when Demyx finally shifted his weight and bit his lip.

"H-hey, um, I was wondering if, well not wondering so much as hoping, that um…" he paused and took a deep breath. "Would you like to go see a movie on Wednesday? I know it's a little weird, but there's this one romantic comedy that I really want to see and it came out over the weekend but I didn't get to see it but I really want to so, um, do you?"

"My Moogle and I?" Zexion asked, finally looking at him. "I'm familiar with it."

"O-oh," Demyx visibly deflated. "So you've already seen it?"

"No."

Demyx looked hopeful and surprised all at once. "No? But I thought you said you were familiar with it!"

Zexion chuckled, beginning to relax around the blond. "I meant that I have heard of it. Perhaps a little too much, as my friend has gone to see it three times already," he said, trying his best not to glare in Marluxia's direction. "I am curious to see it. I have heard that it is a 'must-see' movie of the year."

Demyx beamed. "Great! So we'll meet each other there after work? I get off at five."

Zexion nodded. "Same. You're talking about the movie theater next door, correct?"

"Yeah," Demyx said. "So, um, I gotta get back to work! See you later?"

Zexion gave him a rare smile. "Of course. Where else will I get my lunch?"

Laughing, Demyx happily bounced out of the store, pausing by the exit to turn around and wave to Zexion. Then he was gone.

Zexion let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and let himself collapse over the counter, exhausted from the encounter. _'Now what am I going to do?'_

"_Wow, _way to take the reigns," Larxene said sarcastically as she came out from her hiding place a few tables away. "I never took you as a chicken, Zexion."

"Go away," Zexion muttered miserably.

Marluxia chose that moment to pop up from his hiding place and hurry over to his friend. "Hey, what's the problem? You've got a date, you're going to see a great movie, and your date is a cute blond! Not as cute as _my _blonde, mind you," he said, winking at Larxene, who rolled her eyes.

"Get over yourself, Marluxia," she growled.

Marluxia laughed and turned his attention back to Zexion. "So, what's wrong?"

Zexion slowly raised his head and, in a completely serious tone, asked, "what am I suppose to wear?"

Marluxia's raucous laughter could be heard all the way across the mall.

* * *

"Axel, take these back to storage for me," Riku said.

The redhead looked up from the shelf he was attempting to fix. It had suffered an unfortunate accident thanks to Riku and Roxas's last fight, one that ended with Riku slamming his head against the wall and almost getting a concussion.

"Yeah, sure," he said as he got up. He languidly stretched, paying no mind to the fact that his shirt rose several inches to show off his belly. Roxas was nowhere nearby to admire the sight.

Riku shoved the box closer to the redhead with his foot. "Just be careful of the door," he warned. "It's tricky."

Axel raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "A tricky door?" he repeated. "Right. Yeah, I'll watch out for the tricky door." He rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue ring against his teeth as he picked up the box and walked off with it.

Riku scowled and returned to his work. "Stupid redhead," he muttered. "He thinks he's so sexy just because he has tattoo's and a stupid tongue ring. I could have one too if I wanted to! I just don't want to…" he glared in the direction of the storage room. "Why the hell am I helping him and Roxas get together anyway? This is stupid."

"What's stupid?"

Riku jumped and looked over at Roxas as he arrived back from his lunch break. "Nothing!" he said quickly. "Just thinking about how stupid it is that we only get half-hour lunch breaks here."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "_Right_," he said sarcastically. "Look, where's Axel at? I need to tell him I'm back so he can go to lunch."

Riku hid his smirk. "I sent him back to the storage closet."

Roxas glared at him. "I bet you didn't tell him not to close it behind you, either! Damn it, Riku! You're such a fucking idiot!"

"I warned him," Riku said lightly. "I told him the door was tricky."

Roxas stared at him in disbelief for a moment and then groaned. "That's _not _a warning," he said.

"Yes it is," Riku replied. "It'll be his own damn fault if he doesn't listen to me."

Roxas scoffed and smacked Riku in the back of the head before he rushed off to the storage closet.

Riku stood there for a moment longer before smirking and trailing after the blond. All he had to do was conveniently bump into the door while Roxas and Axel were in there and his work would be done. And of course he would have to let them out later, but for the time being he wasn't too focused on that.

He tried his best to not whistle the theme to Mission Impossible, a favorite movie of his and Sora, as he snuck past the door. He waited until he heard both of them talking in the closet and then he walked back past it and swung his hip into the door. He heard it click shut and then began whistle as he walked back to the front. Now all he had to do was leave them in there for an hour or so and everything would be perfect. In the meantime, he was going to play some of his favorite music.

* * *

Roxas cursed when he heard the door click shut, followed by the sound of Riku whistling. "Valentine!" he yelled as he ran over and began banging on the door. "Get back over here and open this door, you asshole!"

Axel chuckled and sat down on a box. "So, looks like you're stuck in here with me now. What are you going to do? Have your way with me?"

Roxas glared at him. "Shut up. I told you not to trust Riku, but _no_you didn't believe me. I'm your boyfriend! You're suppose to listen when I tell you shit like this!"

"So protective," Axel teased. "Are you always like this or is this something new?" He chuckled again when Roxas scowled and looked away from him. "Come now, don't be like that. How about you come over here and I make you forget all about that bastard?"

Roxas ignored him.

"Jeez, where'd my flirty Roxy go?" Axel asked. "I think I'd like him back now. He's more fun."

"Do you… hear something?" Roxas asked.

Axel fell silent and listened to see if he could pick up on what Roxas was talking about. And then he heard it.

_I'm bringin' sexy back! (yeah!) Them other boys don't know how to act!_

The redhead snickered as soon as he recognized the song. Roxas, on the other hand, growled and began pounding on the door again. "Fucker! Get back here! Stop playing your shitty music!"

Axel got up from his box and slowly made his way over to Roxas. Instead of saying anything or reaching out to touch the angry blond, he leaned up against the wall and stared at him until he finally looked over at him. He smirked and reached out to brush Roxas's bangs to the side. "There's my Roxas," he said.

Roxas blushed. "Oh, shut up. Why do you say things like that?"

"'Cause I like you," Axel said frankly. "Say, I seem to recall a certain blond wanting to throw me in this here closet to ravish me. Now's your chance. I don't think we'll end up locked in here together again."

Roxas didn't have to think twice about that.

* * *

Yuffie glared at Sephiroth.

That was all. She didn't say anything. She didn't make any movements or obscene gestures. She simply stood behind the counter and glared at him.

In hindsight, it probably wasn't his most genius ideas to bump into her so she'd spill her favorite chicken noodle soup, but it was the only thing he could think of at the time. He had to get her to change clothes somehow and it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

At that moment, Yuffie was not dressed in her usual boy jeans and Nintendo hoody. Instead, she'd been forced to wear one of her old black tank tops with a white Hawaiian flower print, as well as a black and white plaid skirt she had (somehow) dyed because she hated her school's red plaid skirts.

To say the least, she wasn't a very happy ninja.

"You shouldn't glare so much," Aerith remarked as she made her usual rounds to check up on them. "You'll scare away all of our customers. Besides, you look cute."

"I don't want to look 'cute'," Yuffie grumbled. "And I swear, if one more guy looks at me with that perverted gaze, I will jump over this counter and _castrate him!" _she yelled, glaring at a teenage boy who had been doing just that.

He gulped and went back to browsing the games.

Aerith sighed. "Yuffie…"

"Today is the day you die, Valentine!"

"How very nice, Rhapsodos. Kindly move so I can put this up."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

Aerith gave up on gaining any control of what happened in the store and vanished back into her office. Things quickly degraded further the moment she left.

"Genesis, what are you doing in here again?! I told you to come find me where _I _work! Not where _Sephiroth _works!"

"Kick Sephiroth's ass, Gen!" Yuffie encouraged. "C'mon! You can do it!"

Kairi turned to face her with her hands on her hips. "Don't enco--" she broke off when she realized who she was talking to. It was then she noticed something very different about the 'boy' she had been crushing on. "You… you're a… girl."

"Well, yeah," Yuffie said. "That's kind of obvious. Wait, you thought I was a boy?"

Kairi blushed and looked away. "Yeah…" she said quietly.

Yuffie couldn't help but start giggling. "I can't believe it! Someone really thought I was a boy! You mean no one told you? 'Cause, c'mon, you had to of said something to someone, right? And you work with Fuu! She knows I'm a girl."

"But this is great!" Kairi blurted out, looking back over at her.

Yuffie blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"See, I promised myself that I wasn't going to date any more guys and Namine and Fuu started teasing me when I first saw you because I thought you were a boy and said you were cute!" Kairi said. "And um…"

"So, wait, since I'm a girl, you want to date me?" Yuffie asked, still confused.

Kairi's blush spread further across her cheeks. "Y-yeah."

Yuffie was silent for a moment before she giggled and tapped Kairi's nose. "I was wrong. You're not only cute, you're _adorable._"

"I-- what?"

"I'm free tomorrow night," Yuffie said. "If you're free too, we could go bowling or something. You know, just get to know each other better."

'_Is she serious?' _Kairi wondered, looking at the raven-haired girl in surprise. Realizing that Yuffie was waiting for a reply, she nodded. "I'm free. Bowling sounds perfect."

"Perfect," Yuffie said. Without warning, she grabbed Kairi's hand and scrawled a phone number across it with her purple pen. "That's my number. Give me a call later and we'll finish making plans, okay?"

Kairi nodded. "Sure. Sounds good."

A crashing noise alerted them to the fact that Genesis had just jumped on top of Sephiroth and had knocked him over while trying to get a reaction from him.

"You get Genesis and I get Sephiroth?" Yuffie asked.

"Deal," Kairi agreed.

* * *

Marluxia and Selphie stared each other down as they stood outside by their little orange car, waiting to see who would make the first move for the spare key they kept under the back of the car. Once again, one of them had accidentally locked their usual key in the car, which meant they got to fight over who would get to drive home.

Both of them hated it when the other would drive. Marluxia thought that Selphie drove like a maniac, the way she swerved in and out of traffic and always went at least ten miles over the speed limit. Selphie hated Marluxia's driving because she felt he always went too slow and took too long pulling out into traffic.

Selphie made a move for the rear of the car and Marluxia reacted just as quickly by whipping out the spare key from his pocket, jamming it in the driver's side door, and then hopping in.

"Cheater!" Selphie yelled, stomping her foot. "You said you left the key in the car!"

"I did," Marluxia replied, happily running his hands over the steering wheel. "I came out and got the spare during lunch. Which means I win." He started up the car as Selphie grumpily got into the passengers seat. "By the way, this isn't the only thing I have once again won," he said happily. "Guess whose genius plan got Zexion and Demyx together today."

Selphie gasped in shock. "No!"

Marluxia smirked. "That's right. _Mine._ Which means I have once again won, making _me _the official king of matchmaking!"

Selphie glared at him. "It does not! Plenty of my ideas have worked better than yours!"

Marluxia hummed as he turned up the music.

"Are you ignoring me?" Selphie demanded. "Marluxia!"

"Ooo! I love this song!" Marluxia said with a happy sigh. "It's so romantic."

"You're an ass."

* * *

THE END

* * *

So, this ended up actually being the last chapter. Demyx and Zexion's moment worried me for a moment, since it lasted three whole pages. I thought for sure the others would too.

So, yeah... About Roxas and Axel, I'd say they got together a day or so after Selphie rounded up everyone to do the matchmaking stuff. So it wasn't at all necessary for Riku to get involved. Poor thing. I almost feel bad for him, since I'm sure Roxas beat the crap out of him the moment he got out of the closet.

There is one good thing about the end of this story. It means I get to start work on another one. And that other one just happens to be a **sequel **to this story. It'll be called "Mall Duty 2". I've already started gathering ideas for it. It may be a few days before I post it though, since I go back to school tomorrow.

So that's it. Just keep an eye out for **Mall Duty 2.**


End file.
